Going Golden
by expoirx
Summary: Bella: Gymnast. Edward: Swimmer. At the Olympics and ready to go for the gold-and each other. Is it possible to find love at the biggest sporting event in the world?
1. Chapter 1

**Inspired by the London Olympics :-) **

I love plane rides. I'm serious! There is absolutely no sarcasm located in that previous statement. I love the fact that I'm pretty much defying nature and waited upon by the push of a button. Speaking of that, I'm pretty thirsty right now—could go for some water. I call the flight attendant over and she's more than enthusiastic to bring me a cup of ice and a small water bottle. I love flying first class. Not that I get to do it often, because I'm not rich or anything. This is more about me flying out to Paris for my first Olympic games—ever. I'm hopeful that there will be more after this but not that many continue for a second round in my sport.

I'm Isabella Swan-Bella for short, and a gymnast for the US women's Olympic Team. My other teammates, Alice, Rosalie, Jessica and Lauren are just as excited as I am for this experience. I'm still in awe that I made it onto the Olympic team. I mean, seriously, there were so many people that could've gotten the spot and I'm here and part of the lucky five ladies who get to represent the US. Alice always tells me it's because I always nail the floor routine, but I think all my years of trying to get good Karma are finally coming back around.

The flight to Paris from O'Hare will take approximately nine hours and we're currently two hours into our flight. We're flying in a giant Boeing-777 passenger craft and I just can't fall asleep. I think it's because I'm too excited right now. Alice is conked out right now and I can see a tiny trail of drool leaving her mouth. The sight makes me giggle a bit. Jessica is reading Teen Vogue and Lauren is watching a movie. Rosalie has her Nook out and is reading the latest hotshot novel. I'm trying to fall asleep which I now deem impossible. I had hoped to be out for most of the plane ride so I'd wake up in Paris, but that looks like it's not going to happen. With a sigh I put on my headphones and start watching a movie.

Let me tell you about our team of girls.

Alice is probably the shortest of us—not that any of us is tall. She's my age—eighteen. We both just finished high school. Me at Forks High, her at a fancy private school in Seattle. She has cropped black hair and clear blue eyes and can fly through the air like no other. Her performances always look so effortless. It's because she has been in ballet since she was a little girl and has the grace of a ballerina.

Rosalie is the tallest and probably the hottest. She has shampoo-commercial quality blonde hair and a body to kill for. She's toned from the gymnastics but I think naturally she just has a nice figure. The combo is dangerous and can probably make a grown man cry. She's nineteen years old and can probably live on the balance beam. I'm jealous, the beam is my worst event.

Jessica and Lauren are both seventeen. Actually, Jessica just turned seventeen yesterday, so she's the youngest in the group. Jessica is….interesting. It's not that I don't like her, she just is probably the biggest flirt I've ever met in my life. She has brown hair like me but her eyes are green, not brown. She also claims to have had sex with two really hot guys—at the same time. I don't believe her.

Lauren is blonde like Rosalie, but I'm pretty sure she isn't naturally that way. Her roots are a brown color and her hair when she doesn't style it looks like it's been through some damage. She's nice though, and her vaulting skills are a valuable asset to the team. She flirts a lot like Jessica. I think she's desperate for a boy toy—just not as desperate as Jessica.

So for the past few months I've been to photoshoots, filming promotional videos, doing interviews, and training my butt off for the next two weeks. And it's totally going to be worth it. I'm not crazy famous but our coach, Aro, warned us that if we did well at the Olympics fame would sweep through us. This fact both excites and nerves me.

Rosalie and I did an ad together for a tampon company though. It'd been a few weeks after they announced the Olympic team and they'd approached us with a offer. I still feel awkward being a spokesmodel for what is apparently the 'best sports tampon there is' but it was a fun experience.

"Are we there yet?" Alice asks as she wakes up from her nap.

"Yeah. In seven hours" Rosalie replies.

"Damn it!" Alice closes her eyes again.

I have a few days to adjust before the opening ceremonies. I don't really get jetlag but I'm not sure about the other girls. We're arriving there at nighttime so not sleeping on the plane is a good thing I suppose—I'll be tired and ready to sleep once we get there.

I take a quick glance around the plane again. The whole area is swarmed with athletes, although I don't know any of them. Far away from me I can see Ben Cheney though. He's pretty much a running god in the US. He can't beat the Jamaicans, but then again, who can? He has the American record for the 100 and 200 meters though. That counts for something.

He's the only person I recognize.

Seven hours later I'm on the ground again. My ears hurt because of all the pressure when the plane was descending. So I can't really hear things clearly at the moment. It's okay though because a lot of what I'm hearing around the airport is spoken in French so I can't understand it anyway. The girls and I tried to learn some French before we came here and I can say hello, goodbye, and some other basic phrases. That's it.

"Paris! I love you!" Jessica shouts.

Lauren cheers with her. Rosalie grins and Alice just looks tired. She sleeps too much.

"Bella, isn't this so cool?" Jessica asks, "We're in the city of love! Oh French boys, come to me!"

"Yeah, French guys are hot. Especially with their accents. I don't know which is hotter, a French accent or a British accent" Rosalie says.

"Toughie" Lauren replies.

"British is really sophisticated and mysterious but French is more romantic" I add in.

"I like them both" Is what Alice says.

We get our bags and then are packed into large buses to be taken to the Olympic village. I'm sharing a room with Rosalie. Alice is with Jessica, and Lauren is paired with a diver whose name is Angela. Lauren and Angela apparently know each other from school. I've never met her but from what Lauren tells me, she's a pretty cool person.

There are rooms for two, rooms for four, rooms for six, and rooms for eight at the Olympic village. All of us could've been shoved into one room but somehow we ended up with the double rooms. Not a problem for me though. Less fighting over bathroom time.

"Nice" is what Rosalie says when she opens our door.

There are white walls and lime green couches. The sitting area is small but happy looking. Bright colors and contemporary furniture make me smile. An archway leads to the sleeping area. The beds are smaller than I had imagined, but they look comfortable. A painting of the Eiffel Tower hangs across from the bed along with a flatscreen TV.

"Which bed do you want?" I ask Rosalie.

"Closest to the window" She says.

I drop my stuff down on the bed closer to the exit and walk into the bathroom to check it out. There is not bathtub which disappoints me a little because I do enjoy long hot baths, but the fluffy golden towels make up for it. I rub one of them across my cheek. So soft.

I decide to shower first because I feel gross after that plane ride. It feels so nice to wash my face and shave my legs. I think I take too long because Rosalie knocks at my door angrily.

"Bella. What the heck are you doing? Get out right now or I'm going to bust down this door. Seriously, I want to shower too you know?"

Never mess with an angry Rose. Her thorns will stab you and make you cry.

I quickly dry off and put on some pajamas. Rosalie is waiting outside the door expectantly. She moment I'm out she goes in and I crawl into bed. I'm tired because I haven't slept in about fifteen hours.

Closing my eyes, I drift off into a deep sleep.

When I wake up there a line of sun streaming in through a crack in the curtains and Rosalie is snoring lightly. I'm tempted to record it and show it to her or use it as blackmail substance, but I'm too lazy right now to dig for my phone. I twist my neck a bit to look at the clock on the nightstand. It's nine AM. We're supposed to be at training at ten.

I stretch myself out and head into the bathroom to get ready. I pull my hair into a bun and pin the loose ends back. Nothing is worse than having your hair fly into your face while trying to tumble. I've tried it before and I the result was a sprained ankle as a result of a piece of hair blocking my vision.

I put on a blue leotard and some white sweats. I'm not going to wear the official US Olympic team gear until the games actually begin. It's all hanging in the wardrobe though. The leotards, sweats, opening ceremony clothing...

Rosalie has woken up by now and is doing her hair in the bathroom. I'm standing in front of a mirror in the bedroom, tracing a thin line of black eyeliner onto my eyes. I'd rather not have to put on a lot of makeup, but Alice told me that there are cameras everywhere and I need to look good at all times. She's like that though.

I'm heading down to the cafeteria with Rosalie after half an hour to get breakfast.

It is at that exact moment when I notice him.

He's standing down the hallway with a big burly guy. He has the wildest, sexiest bronze hair I've ever seen. His tight white shirt clings to his body and I can see the outline of his muscles. Oh my.

"Wow" Rosalie says, looking at the two, "That's hot"

"Which one?"

"Big one"

"I prefer the other"

"One for each of us"

"Fat chance. Girls will be all over them"

The bronze haired one looks over at me and our eyes meet for a moment. He has the greenest, brightest, most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. His nose is smooth and perfect, his lips are plump and pink and-gah I want to just kiss him and never let go.

He gives me a breathtaking crooked grin and a wink before walking off with the other guy.

Wow.

We grab some food in the cafeteria and then take the ten-minute walk to the gymnastics center. Jessica, Lauren and Alice meet us at breakfast and walk with us. They all look extremely excited. My mind keeps drifting off to the no-name bronzed haired Adonis. I think I'll call him Adonis for now. Hopefully I'll get his real name soon. It's fitting though. The Olympics started in Greece and Adonis is a Greek God.

"Oh my gosh. There are going to be cameras, and reporters, and so many people at the gymnastics center!" Jessica squeals. She's wearing an obnoxious blue eyeshadow that makes her look like a wanna-be Cleopatra.

"There will be a lot of girls there" Alice says, "We'll get to do a bit of practicing on the Olympic apparatuses, and then we're heading off to another gym to do some more hardcore training."

"Bring it!" Lauren shouts as we run through the entrance.

"Come on, lets go girls!" Jessica yells, "Let's get done so we can see the Eiffel tower this afternoon and scope out the hot French boys!"

There is a lady waiting for us. She's wearing a red polo and khaki pants and she silently tells us to follow her. We're led to the competition floor and I think I feel a small prickle of tears in my eyes.

This is really happening. I'm at the Olympic games. Years of dreaming for this moment and now I'm here.

And I'm ready.

**And I'm ready to kick this story off! **

**I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to drop me some feedback. For the record I'm not an Olympic athlete. I've been trying to do some research for this story though, so wish me luck. I do however, watch the Olympics. It's the only time I pay much mind to sports. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for reading! On to the chapter :)**

As much as I love gymnastics I'm really hungry right now. We've been practicing for the past three hours and I really just want a nice hot meal as well as a foot rub. Luckily we get the rest of the day off so the girls and I are going to head off to do some sightseeing.

"Good job girls" Aro says as we put our sweats back on.

Aro won the men's all-around twenty years ago, and he's given up the sport to do intense coaching. He's half-Russian, half-Italian, and 100% hardcore about the sport. Our assistant coach is Heidi, who is pretty much like a second mother to all of us.

"Gosh, I'm so hungry" Alice complains, and the rest of us are quick to agree with her.

"Let's opt out of the village cafeteria and take a look around the city to see what we can find" I suggest.

"Yeah!" Jessica says enthusiastically.

We have to take public transportation to get where we want to go, which makes me a bit sad because I really hate public buses. There is also a subway system but none us really know how to navigate the French Subway system so we climb into a free bus and see where it takes us.

We end up at a small café close to the Eiffel tower. Perfect. It's a small stone building and I can see a few people eating under umbrellas outside. A delicious aroma floats towards us and this is definitely the place I want to eat at.

"Bonjour et bienvenue madames" Our waiter says as we sit down.

"Uh…Bonjour" I say awkwardly. The rest of the girls mumble out a hello.

"Alors, qu'est-ce que vous voulez manger aujourd'hui?"

"Uh…oui?" Jessica pipes out?

"What would you like?" He asks again, this time in surprisingly good English.

"Can we have a few minutes?"

"Yes"

I thank the heavens that there are pictures in the menu because I can't understand a single word on the page. Except for escargot, but there is no way I'm letting a snail into my mouth. Eventually I decide on a creamy looking soup and French fries. It's an odd combination but it's definitely the safest.

Rosalie, on the other hand, decides to get a traditional fish dish and Jessica and Lauren are all over the Foie Gras. Alice plays it safe like me and gets a hamburger.

"Good job at practice today girls" Rosalie says after the waiter has left to put in our orders.

"Yeah, there weren't any fatal errors so I say that if we multiply today by ten, we'll qualify for the team finals and the all-around" Alice adds.

"That's so exciting!" Jessica says, "There is no way we won't qualify for the teams. I mean, taking a look around, I feel like there are only a few hotshots we have to worry about."

"Russia and China" Lauren says.

"Yeah, especially that Irina girl from Russia. Did you see her on the uneven bars? Holy shit" Jessica says, "She's hot on the beams too. I only saw her take one balance check. One!"

"Girls, just relax" Rosalie says, "We have a few more days before quals and I'd like to not be stressed about the competition before it begins"

Nobody talks about Irina from Russia after that. But they are right. I saw Irina today and I feel like she's a pretty big threat. She also looks like a major bitch but maybe that's just me judging a book by its cover. We'll see.

Soon our food comes and it's delicious as expected. We finish eating quickly because we're all excited to climb into the top of the Eiffel tower.

We leave the café just as a group of guys is leaving. I'm shocked and excited to see one who I recognize immediately. It's Adonis, and he's even hotter up close. My group of girls and his group of guys are awkwardly standing in the doorway, waiting for somebody to make the first move to leave.

So I check out Adonis more.

He's wearing a blue sweatshirt and jeans that make his butt look freaking amazing. His eyes bore into mine and he gives me a crooked grin. I melt under his gaze and I feel my heart start alerting me to the fact that it's beating. I don't think I've ever seen anybody so gorgeous before.

"Ladies first" I hear one of the boys say.

I take a look at the other guys. The burly one from this morning that Rosalie thought was hot is here. Next to him is a guy wish messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He's lankier than Mr. Burly, who has curly black hair and probably the most muscular arms I've ever seen. The last guy has spiky blonde hair and is wearing sunglasses indoors.

"Thanks gentlemen" Rosalie says, looking Mr. Burly straight in the eyes.

"Are you guys athletes?" I blurt.

"How'd you know?" Messy blonde hair asks.

"Just guessing"

"Yes we are, and I assume you ladies are as well? I'm Jasper"

"Alice!" Alice says, bounding over to him to give him a firm handshake. She looks absolutely smitten with him already.

"This is Emmett, Edward and Mike" Jasper introduces us. Emmett is Mr. Burly, Edward is my Adonis and Mike is the one with spiky hair.

"US?" I ask.

"Yep. And I'm guessing from your accents you guys are too?"

"Yeah"

"Hey ladies!" Emmett shouts flirtatiously, "I'm Emmett, the best diver in the world! Jasper is my synchro diving buddy. I'm the hot partner"

"Yes you are" I hear Rosalie mutter.

"And Edward here is my brother. He's a swimmer. Didn't want to go into diving like me. Eh, disappoints me, but he's good at what he does. He's just too sissy to jump off a 10 meter platform."

"Shut up Emmett" Edward says and I feel my heart start to race at the sound of his voice. It's smooth and velvety and makes me want to jump him and sex him right now. I'm a virgin though, so I can't imagine things turning out well if I actually did that.

"Oh come on, little bro. Admit it, you're scared of heights" Emmett says teasingly. Edward scowls and hits him on the arm.

"Don't listen to that idiot. I'm not scared of heights." Edward says, "I'm Edward Cullen"

"Oh I know" Jessica says dreamily.

"Yeah, we saw you in Sports Illustrated" Lauren adds, batting her eyelashes at him.

Sports Illustrated, huh? Maybe I should check it out knowing Edward is in it.

"I'm Mike" The last guy says, "It's very nice to meet you" I notice his emphasis on 'you' and his look directed at me. Eck. He's cute but pales in comparison to Edward and his hair looks like it'd fall out from over-gelling.

"Mike plays beach volleyball" Edward says, "His partner, Tyler isn't here right now."

"Well I'm Rosalie" Rosalie pipes up, "This is Alice, Bella, Jessica, and Lauren. We're the gymnastics team"

"Oh yeah, I heard about you guys!" Emmett booms, "The lucky five! Weren't you two in a tampon ad or something?"

I blush. Oh gosh, if he saw that then Edward probably did too.

"We're going to the Eiffel tower, would you men like to come?" Jessica asks.

"Why not?" Jasper responds. I see Alice grin at this fact.

We head out the door in a big group and it looks like Jessica and Lauren have taken a huge liking to Edward. Just great. Because the Olympics isn't competition enough, and now I have to fight for a boy. He probably won't even give me a second glance though after Jessica and Lauren. Frankly, they're pretty hot.

"Edward, your arms are so strong. It must be from all the swimming" Jessica says as she strokes his arm.

"I love men with muscles" Lauren says.

Could the two be any more obvious?

Ok, but seriously. I'm really jealous right now because Alice is flirting with Jasper, and Rosalie is talking to Emmett, and Jessica and Lauren have stuck their claws into the man I want who is flirting right back with them.

This is just great.

I trail behind the rest of them with Mike by my side as we take a short walk over to the tower. It's beautiful and a lot larger than I expected it to be. Pictures really don't do it justice. I pull my camera out and start taking pictures.

"Want me to take one of you next to it?" I hear a smooth voice ask in my ear. I blush a bit when I notice it is Edward right next to me. I look to see where Lauren and Jessica are, and they are taking pictures of each other.

"T-thanks" I say with a stammer. Gosh I sound like an idiot.

"Smile" He says, snapping a quick picture, "You have a beautiful smile"

"Er, thank you" I respond.

He grins at me and hands my camera back. His hands brush against mine for a moment and I am stunned momentarily by the warmth that seeps through my arm. I miss it as soon as he pulls back.

"Come on guys, lets go!" Jessica shouts.

I snap out of my Edward-induced haze and follow them.

It's just my luck that the elevator is broken and we need to take the stairs. Call me an athlete and everything but I absolutely hate stairs. They are obnoxious and annoying, and energy draining. Face it, no matter how in shape somebody is, stairs will always wear them out.

This fact does not deter anybody except me.

"Whoop! Looks like a workout tonight!" Emmett shouts as he starts bounding up the stairs.

I don't know if I'm more shocked by his enthusiasm or the fact that he just used the word 'whoop'.

"Ready to climb?" Edward asks me.

"Yeah" I say slowly, "I hate stairs though"

"I could carry you" He offers with a wink.

"No thanks, I don't want you to hurt anything right before the Olympics"

"Edward, lets go!" Jessica shouts.

"Yeah Edward, hurry up!" Lauren pipes.

"Coming ladies!" He says, leaving me alone.

The guy is clearly a big flirt. I'm left wondering whether he was paying me special attention or if he was that way with all the ladies.

_But look at him, Bella. He's the hottest thing walking the planet. Of course he's this way with all females. He could probably turn my grandma on. Ok, that's just nasty. But still…_

It feels like hours before I'm finally at the top of the tower, squeezed into the space with everybody else.

"Edward, take a picture with me!" Lauren says, "I want to tweet it to my fans!"

"Sure" He says.

They lean in together while Lauren snaps a shot. Lucky. I want a picture with Edward, I'm just not as forward and gutsy as Lauren—or Jessica for that matter, who is currently clinging onto Edward's arm in fear. She's so totally pretending.

Why can't the two of them go for Emmett? There is no way they would be able to compete against Rosalie.

"Do you want to take a picture together Bella?" I hear Edward ask. I turn to him quickly.

"Sure"

He pulls out his own camera and pulls me close to him. I hope he can't hear my heart suddenly take off at 500 miles per hour. I can smell him and he smells way too delicious to be legal. His left arm is around me and his right arm is holding up the camera.

"Smile that pretty smile!" He says before clicking the button.

I hope the camera didn't pick up my blush and I hope I don't look like a tomato right now.

After looking around a bit at the scenery we begin the trek back down to the ground. I'm stuck with Mike again as everybody else has paired up. Except the group of three that consists of Jessica, Lauren and Edward. Mike keeps shooting me flirtatious grins and its making me uncomfortable because I'm not exactly interested in him. Edward turns around and notices me uncomfortably walking with mike so he trails back a bit much to Jessica and Lauren's dismay.

"Keep the ladies company Newton" Edward says, pushing Mike forward, which is fine by me.

"Hey Bella" He says.

"Hi Edward"

"Tell me about yourself"

"Huh?"

"You seem interesting. Tell me about yourself"

"What should I say?"

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen"

He pauses for a moment then grins.

"Well I'm nineteen. Looks like we're almost the same age"

"Yeah" I say.

"So…you're a gymnast?" He asks.

"Yeah"

"That's cool. Gymnastics gets just about as much attention as swimming does. Looks like we're both climbing the ladder of athletic fame."

"I guess so"

"How long have you been doing gymnastics?"

"Ever since I was six"

"What got you into it?"

"My mom signed me up for lessons to encourage me to learn how to balance. I was a clumsy child. I guess I stuck with it in respect for my mom…after she…died. I learned to really love it though."

"Oh, I'm sorry…about your mom." Edward says solemnly.

"It's not your fault. It was a long time ago so too. What's with the Spanish Inquisition anyway?"

"Like I said, I think you're interesting. And now I know you have an intriguing back story. All good athletes have one"

I scoff, "What's yours?"

"I'll tell you someday. I think we'll get to know each other very well over these next few weeks" He flashes me his crooked grin that never fails to make my heart race, "We'll talk again right?"

"Uh-huh"

"Great. But right now I need to head back to the village. I'm doing an interview soon."

We exchange numbers and the boys wave goodbye to us and then climb into a large van. I'm so glad we all have phones that work in foreign countries. They cost a lot more but are so worth being able to have 3G and communication in foreign places.

"Oh my gosh!" Jessica shouts as soon as they are gone, "Edward is so hot!"

"I know right?" Lauren says.

"If either of us gets him, lets promise to share" Jessica offers.

"Agreed" Lauren says.

I can't believe they are willing to share a guy. There is no way that could end well.

"Isn't Jasper just the most adorable?" Alice asks, "He's from Texas and goes to university with Emmett. They're roommates as well as diving partners."

"Well Emmett is the hottest I think" Rosalie says.

"Edward" Jessica and Lauren say.

"Jasper" Alice says.

"Emmett" Rosalie looks at me.

"What do you think Bella?" Jessica asks

Are we really having a conversation about which guy was the hottest? I'm not really comfortable sharing this information. I've never been the type to divulge my crushes to my friends or anything.

"Is the Mike?" Lauren asks, "He seemed to really like you"

"Oh this is perfect!" Jessica squeals, "Rosalie can have Emmett, Alice and Jasper, Lauren and I will share Edward, and Bella can have Mike!"

"No!" I say quickly, "Not Mike!"

Alice and Rosalie shoot me a sympathy look but Jessica and Lauren don't hear me over their cries of excitement. Oh shoot me now.

"I know it's Edward" Rosalie whispers in my ear, "And you have a heck of a lot of a better chance with him than those two"

I give her a thankful smile and then we start heading back to the village.

We have an interview tonight.

**Mike Newton the beach volleyball player? I couldn't resist. **

**Please leave a review and stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Is anybody a little sad that the London Olympics are over? I am. **

**Enjoy this chapter!**

"So, Bella, what are you here for?" The reporter asks me.

"I'm here to prove to myself and the world that I have what it takes to be a champion." I reply my overly rehearsed response.

"What inspires you?"

"My mom. I want to win gold for her because I know it was her dream for me before she passed away. I want to her smile down at me from heaven."

"That's very honorable"

"Yeah. I want her to be proud of me. I've wanted to be at the Olympic games ever since I watched it with her when I was six. When she died I knew that someday I had to make that dream a reality. It's my time."

"Well thank you and good luck"

"Thanks"

My interview was done with a camera pointed at me in front of a green screen. I knew that the reporters were going for soundbites so I tried to give them some good ones. Let's hope that I succeeded.

I'm whisked off to do a photoshoot for some promotional stuff back in the states. Before we came to Paris we'd already filmed our sappy backstories and plenty of team pictures, but we also need some footage and photos straight from Paris.

"How'd it go?" Rosalie asks me.

"Good. It was an interview, I've done a few before"

"Do you still get nervous?"

"A little, but I'm getting used to it"

We're all wearing the same shiny blue leotard and our hair has been straightened. We're placed in a line and told to pose a certain way. Jessica has her hand on her hip, Lauren has her hand in her hair, Alice is turned sideways, Rosalie has her arms crossed and I'm standing opposite Jessica with my hand on my hip.

"Give me a fierce look girls!" The photographer says excitedly.

I'm not sure how to do fierce but I try the best I can.

We do a few more pictures in different poses before we're told that we're done for the night. Thank god because I think I'm going to be permanently blind from all the camera flashes. Our assistant coach Heidi helps us wipe off our makeup and change into regular clothes before we leave.

"Good job girls!" The photographer says as we leave.

There is a chauffer to take us back to the village, which is about twenty minutes away from the studio we were at. The ride is mostly silent. I think we are all to tired to say too much and the bumpy ride makes all of us really drowsy. I don't fall asleep before we get there though but Alice has and she grumbles are we climb out of the van.

"Girls, get some sleep" Heidi says.

As we walk into the village a bowl of small packages catches my eye. I get a little closer and gasp as I notice the contents. What the—

"Rose, are those…?" I point to the bowl.

"Condoms? Yeah"

"Uh…"

"Seriously Bella. Don't be naïve. Everybody knows that the Olympics is like one giant sex party. Win a gold medal? Celebrate with sex. Got some down time? Sex. Sex. Sex. We're surrounded by hotshot athletes with great bodies….it's inevitable."

"So, they are just there for the taking?" I ask.

"Yeah. I've heard of athletes hooking up with the staff too. Olympic volunteers and workers, you know."

"Uh…"

I'm still stunned. There are at least a hundred condoms in that bowl. Would this mean that every night there would be people hooking up very close to me? I just hope I don't catch a glimpse of anything.

"You don't need them, do you Bella?" Jessica asks, "I mean, maybe when everything is over you and Mike can hook up or something—"

"Not Mike!" I say loudly.

"Alright. Well there are a lot of hot guys around here. I'm sure you'll find someone" Lauren says.

"I'm not going to have sex with anyone" I say firmly.

"Well, you never know…" Jessica trails off, "I mean, I've got my eyes set on Edward Cullen"

I feel a surge of jealousy run through me. The image of Jessica and Edward rolling around on a mattress runs through my head and I feel my chest constrict. Jessica and Edward sharing a bed, his arms around her…

I try to tune those thoughts out. _Goodness Bella, you barely know the guy and he's making you feel this way. _

"Bella's a virgin" I hear Alice say. I glare at her.

"Really?" Jessica asks, "Wow."

"I'm eighteen Jessica. What's the rush?" I say.

"Well I lost my virginity when I was sixteen"

Big shocker there. Note the sarcasm.

"Yeah, me too!" Lauren pipes up. The giggle and high five.

"Can we not have this conversation?" I ask.

"Fine, we can have girl talk later" Jessica says.

"Girl talk? I'm interested" I hear a booming voice say. I turn around and see Emmett bounding towards us…with Edward in tow.

"You wish" Rosalie says to him.

"You know it baby" He says with a wink and eyebrow wiggle.

Seriously? Already? He's calling her baby? It's only been a day. Why can't it be that way with Edward and I?

Oh wait, I'm not good with boys like Rosalie is. Or Jessica, or Lauren for that matter, who are already swarming around Edward.

"How are you Edward?" Jessica asks. I note the way she purrs his name. It makes me sick.

"Wonderful" He responds.

Alice looks bored with everything, maybe because Jasper isn't here. I see her eyes scanning around for something, or someone aka Jasper. She looks disappointed and pouts a bit when she notices that he isn't with Emmett and Edward.

"Let's go to our room Jessica" She says.

"But—" Jessica starts, but stops talking when she sees Alice's hard glare.

"I'm tired" Alice says.

"Bye Edward, I'll see you around" Jessica says, trailing her finger over one of the condoms before leaving with Alice. Edward gives him a heart-melting smile as she walks away.

Lauren's phone goes off and she looks at it with a scowl.

"Darn it, Angela is stuck in the bathroom without toilet paper" Lauren says, "Sorry Eddie, but I have to go. We'll talk soon right?"

"Sure Lauren"

She giggles and kisses his cheek before walking away. I get hit with a pang of jealousy again. I want to kiss his cheek. Scratch that. I just want to kiss him. He's standing there with his eyes are shiny and lips all soft looking and I just want to attack him.

But I can't. That'd be awkward and I don't have the guts to do it.

So it's just Me, Rosalie, Edward and Emmett now. Rosalie and Emmett are engaged in a hardcore flirting session and I turn away from them to let them have a moment. I'm also a little saddened by the fact that Edward hasn't acknowledged me yet.

I'm just about to walk away when I feel a hand grab my arm. By the way my whole body fills with warmth I know its Edward.

"Hey Bella" He says.

"Edward" I nod.

"I like you with your hair down" He says, running a finger through my straightened hair. I feel myself beginning to blush.

"T-t-thanks" I stammer a bit. I sound like an idiot.

His eyes shoot down towards the condoms in the bowl and a mischievous grin lights up his face.

"Looks like they've got everything covered here" He says.

"Yeah"

"Think you'll need to use those?" He asks me and I choke on my saliva. Did he just ask me if I needed a condom?

"Well, maybe. I mean, no! No! I won't. I don't want-" I stop myself before I blurt out anything embarrassing. Like now I want to have sex with him.

"Hmm?" He asks, "Maybe?"

"No!"

"Well I'm a maybe too." He says, giving me a smile that makes my knees get weak. Why can't I affect him like he affects me?

"That's…good" I say. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

"Yes it is" He says, "I'll see you around Bella. _Maybe_" He says, before walking away and dragging Emmett away as he goes.

"Oh my god" I mutter.

"I know right?" Rosalie adds, "Emmett is too hot for words"

I don't see Edward again for the next few days. I don't have time—or the courage—to text him either. My days are filled with training, photoshoots and interviews. I sleep a lot to. Aro requires for us to get as much rest as possible to be prepared for qualification day. I can tell that he's a bit stressed, especially after he watches the Russian gymnasts nail a dismount. He's been trying to be very supportive though, which is good for our confidence.

I'm sad about lack of Edward contact though. He hasn't tried to contact me either which leaves me disappointed. Maybe he is busy like I am.

Soon it's the day of the opening ceremonies and there is hussle and bussle everywhere. All the athletes have arrived and everywhere I go is like a culture shock. There are more languages spoken around me than there are bad news reports on Fox News. There are so many people too. Athletes are everywhere and they all look so intimidating. Big muscular guys walk around shirtless and women with eight-pack abs hang out by the pool in their tiny bikinis.

There are disturbing things too. Like the time I went to get a massage at the parlor inside the village and found the masseuse making out shirtless with a very buff man. He was taking off his pants and I saw his…thing…and it was extremely disturbing. They should really do that in a more private place. I told Rosalie about and she shrugged and said "I told you so".

So now I'm in Alice and Jessica's room and we're all getting ready to go to the opening ceremony together. We're dressed in the USA uniforms. Navy skirt, white shirt, navy polo, white hat and a red scarf. I think they look like of ugly but then Alice tells me that they are Ralph Lauren and cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to buy. I consider myself lucky after that. I'm wearing expensive clothes for free.

There are three hair straighteners going at once and makeup spilled out all over the bathroom countertop. Us five girls are squeezed into the bathroom and using one mirror. It's difficult and I feel squished and the room is getting really stuffy. We eventually get finished though and it feels so nice to walk into the large room again.

"Ladies, this is it!" Alice says.

"I'm so excited!" Jessica shouts.

I rub away an eyeliner smear from under my eye as we get ready to head out. We're all wearing brown eyeshadow and dark blue eyeliner. Our lips are a light red color. Lauren decided to tattoo an American flag onto her cheek. She's the only person who did that.

I grab my camera and phone and walk out of the room with the other girls. There are a lot of people in the hallway, all getting ready to head out. My phone beeps and I look down and see that I have a text.

From Edward.

I want to scream for joy right now.

_Heading to the opening, wanna go with us? Meet you by the condom bowl ;-)_

Oh yes, Edward. I would love to go with you.

"Do you guys want to head over with the boys?" I ask.

"What boys?" Rosalie asks. I can tell she's hopeful Emmett is included in the group.

"Edward, and Emmett, and stuff…" I say.

"Yes!" Jessica shouts immediately. Lauren is right there with her.

"Will Jasper be there?" Alice asks excitedly.

"Probably" I say.

"Lets go!" She shouts.

Sure enough, the boys are waiting by the condom bowl. There are six of them. I see Edward immediately. He looks devilishly handsome in his blazer and I'm only slightly sad I can't see all of his messy hair under his hat. Oh well, his green eyes stand out more.

"Edward!" I hear Jessica say as she runs towards him. Ugh.

He turns and smiles.

"Jessica" He says, giving her and then Lauren a quick hug.

I try to suppress my jealousy by telling myself that he texted _me_, not them.

"Ladies, meet Tyler and Eric" Emmett says, introducing two guys I've never seen before.

"Tyler is Mike's beach volleyball partner and Eric plays ping pong" He says.

"It's table tennis. It's called _table tennis_." Eric says with a scowl.

"Yeah, whatever"

"Do I get a hug from you too?" I hear a velvety voice ask in my ear. Heck yes you do.

"Sure" I say.

He pulls me into his arms and I think I want to stay there forever. He's so warm, and strong, and I can his feel his muscles move against me. I'm going to spontaneously combust.

He pulls away too soon for my liking and shoots me a sexy grin.

"Hey Bella" I look and see Mike standing in there with his arms open. Oh no.

I give him a small hug as fast as I can and stand three feet away from him.

"Hi Mike" I say with a fake grin on my face.

I really wish he wasn't interested in me. That'd make a lot more comfortable.

"Let's go!" Emmett says, "Gotta meet up with the rest of team USA!"

We walk out the door and I feel Mike put his hand on the small of my back. Moving forward a bit and wiggling, I try to shake it off but he has it firmly there. I shoot a glance towards Edward who is surprisingly looking at Mike's hand. He narrows his eyes a bit then turns back to talk to Lauren.

Was that…jealousy I saw in his eyes? God I hope so.

**Thank you to everybody who has read this, reviewed, favorited, etc. You all make me so freaking happy! **

**Please review because they'll make Eric win his ping pong match…ahem. Table tennis. ;-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4. Thank you so much to everybody who supports this story. I really do appreciate it!**

Why are there so many countries…no wait. Better question is, why does the US begin with a letter so late in the alphabet? I'm waiting for team USA to make its grand entrance into the Olympic Stadium and so far they're still on the F's. There are countries that I haven't even heard about that are marching in. Lucky Greece gets to go first and watch everybody else march in. That must be a lot more fun than this.

I'm waiting patiently in the warm night air for our turn.

It's quite beautiful though, actually, aside from the boredom. Everybody looks so happy and carefree. Even the countries with only a few athletes look so proud with their flags and matching uniforms. It's a cultural event and everybody in the world is getting together and competing without bombs and wars and all those nasty things. That's the thing about the olympics that really gets me-how the world can go head to head without deaths or violence.

"Bored?" I hear Edward ask me.

"A bit."

We've been standing here for a while and a lot of people around me are socializing. I've greeted a few people, not really remembering their names. Soon everybody starts to look the same to me, and it doesn't help that we're all pretty much wearing the same clothing. I met track superstar Ben Cheney though…he is our flag bearer. I gave him a few complements on his running speed and he thanked me before flirting with Lauren's roommate Angela.

Angela seems pretty nice although I haven't really spoken to her too much. She's a world champion diver who has soft brown hair and blue eyes. Ben seems to have taken quite a liking to her.

A group of giggling rhythmic gymnastics girls shoot me a look as they run by.

I don't like rhythmic gymnasts.

"You're Bella right?" One of them asks me.

"Yeah."

"You're like a artistic gymnast right?"

"Yeah"

"I'm a rhythmic gymnast."

"Cool."

"I'm _so_ super excited to be here. Like, this is my dream. The Olympics. Every athletes dream right?"

"Yeah" I try to ignore her usage of 'so super'. I'm not a grammar nazi, but that just bugged me.

"So you do flips and stuff?"

"Yeah"

"That's so cool! I guess we'll be seeing each other around cause we're all gymnasts. You tumble and I twirl ribbons! But tomato tomahto."

"Uh-huh"

"I'm Charlotte"

"That's great"

"Who's this?" Charlotte points to Edward.

"Edward Cullen" He says, shaking her hand. I think she swoons a bit.

"He's hot" Charlotte whispers in my ear. I have to agree with her on that one.

"So…Edward. What do you do? No wait! I know, you're the swimming sensation from Chicago right? I saw you in Sports Illustrated!"

Am I the only person who doesn't read Sports Illustrated?

"Yeah" Edward says.

"Cool. Well I'll see you guys around!" Charlotte and the rest of her posse run off to bug somebody else.

I sigh and look around me a bit. Rosalie and Emmett look like they are about to make-out soon, so I turn away from them. Alice and Jasper are engaged in a deep conversation. Jessica and Lauren are thankfully not bugging Edward but rather excitedly talking with a famous athlete. Mike, Tyler and Eric seem to be sharing a 'bro' moment with some people I don't know. They are fist bumping and bro hugging and laughing really loud. It makes me smile a bit.

That leaves Edward and I together.

Not that I mind.

"So…what do you swim?" I ask him, trying to make small talk.

"A little bit of everything" He says with a shrug, "I guess I'm best at freestyle but I like to do IM's. They keep things interesting. Not to brag or anything, but I won the 400 IM at the world championships last year. Kind hoping for the same result here."

"That's cool. Good luck"

"Thanks. What about you, gymnast girl, what's your specialty?"

'Floor" I say.

"That's where you do those flips with music on the giant mat right?"

"Sure"

Edward clearly doesn't have a good gymnastics vocabulary. Flips with music on the giant mat? If he wasn't so cute I'd hit him.

I notice that through our conversation we've been getting closer and closer to each other. Soon we're only a few inches apart and I can feel his breath on my face. Cue my racing heart at this point. I try to focus on his eyes and not his pink lips. His eyes are just as enticing though. They look so…green. Why can't my eyes be as pretty and expressive as his? He has those eyes that you can just look into forever and get lost and fall into. It's like his eyes are a pool and I jump in and drown in them. He doesn't move away, and I feel my palms start to sweat. His close proximity is—for the lack of a better word—dazzling me. I feel his hot breath on my face again and I suddenly feel my mental filter slipping away.

"You have pretty eyes!" I blurt, and then slap my hand against my mouth. His lips turn up in a dazzling smile.

"Thank you" He says.

"Uh…sorry I didn't mean to say that" I say, backing away slightly.

"No, no, it's fine. I think you have beautiful eyes too." He says warmly and I feel my blush intensify.

"Thanks"

"Come on, let's get ready to head in with everybody."

Lauren and Jessica saunter back and steal Edward away from me at this point. I let out a large sigh as they flirt shamelessly with him. He shoots me a smile and gestures for me to join the three of them.

"Ready Bella?" He asks.

"Yep"

"I'm ready too!" Jessica says.

"Me three!" Lauren exclaims.

Edward chuckles and hooks his arm around mine, much to Jessica and Lauren's dismay. I want to shoot them a smug smile and say 'ha!', but they are my teammates and I love them—even if they are annoying flirtatious with Edward.

"Come on ladies, welcome to the Olympics" Edward says as we walk through the large entryway into the stadium.

I hear it before I see it. The crowd. There are thousands or possibly millions of people in the stands. Cameras flash, people cheer, USA flags fly around and wave. Holy cow. There are cameramen following us in, and I give a quick wave to one of them like all the other athletes are doing. It's a lot larger than I had thought. Then again, I'm from Forks, Washington, and the high school track there is quite frankly pathetic and puny.

"Come on Bella, take pictures!" Alice says as she walks by me.

Rosalie and Emmett are walking with their arms around each other and I can see a camera panning over them.

The crowd is still cheering as we walk around the track. I'm surprised to hear somebody scream my name as I walk by but I'm not sure who it is. It sounded like a teenage girl. I pull my camera out and start taking pictures. Lauren is talking about getting good substance for her facebook and twitter pages. I feel adrenaline rush through me as I proudly walk through the stadium.

This is pretty great, not gonna lie.

There is music, and cheering, and I don't even mind the excessive camera flashes.

"Pretty cool right?" Edward shouts over the noise.

"Yeah!" I shout back.

I wave until my arm is tired. I take so many pictures and videos that I'm scared my phone and camera are going to run out of memory space. And I don't care. It hits me that all my years of preparing for the Olympics are finally going to pay off the day after tomorrow when I start competing. I'm really here.

Wow.

I continue to move forward happily. I'm saddened by the fact that Edward's arm is no longer hooked around mine, but I guess I have to let him go since he's taking a video with one hand and waving with the other. I'm so glad I don't have to compete tomorrow because this whole experience seems a bit draining. I can tell that by the end of the night my feet are going to hurt. There are no seats for us, so we have to stand for the rest of the ceremony. I'm jealous of the people in the stands for a moment—but just a moment.

Is that…the president in the stands? It is. Oh my gosh. I'm looking at the president. Who is sitting near the President of France and the Queen of England, and the Princes, and all these other dignitaries. I've never seen so many important people in once place before.

Soon we're done walking and we're shoved into a space with athletes from all the other countries who look just as happy as we are. Luckily there aren't too many more countries to follow us and soon there is more music and light shows.

Then rest of the evening flows smoothly and faster than I had thought. The flag is raised, the flame is lit, fireworks dance through the sky and cameras flash. I'm simply elated.

"Let the games begin" Edward mutters next to me as fireworks shoot up and form the five Olympic rings.

"You sound like we're in the hunger games or something" I say back to him.

"Bella, if this were the hunger games I wouldn't want to be here. But I do."

"As do I" I say.

"Good, because I don't want to have to kill you" He says.

I feel giddy as he puts his arm around me. It's a friendly gesture but I can't help but imagine staying in his arms for a really, really long time.

"Edward!" Jessica shouts as she stands by his other side. She glances at the arm he has swung around my shoulder. That's right Jessica. Be jealous.

"Jessica" He says, "Enjoying your evening?"

"Extremely. Especially since you are here!" She giggles and links her arm through his. I frown when he doesn't remove her arm.

I guess he's just being friendly.

Like he is with me.

Because he's not mine.

No matter how much I want him to be.

Cause he's kind of sweet.

And I like him.

I think I have a crush.

On Edward Cullen.

Oh.

_I have a crush on Edward Cullen_, I repeat to myself. I look at Jessica who is beaming with her arm linked in his. _And Jessica does too._

I'm at the Olympic Village again. A lot of people have gone to bed because they have to compete tomorrow. The one's who don't look like they're going to go out partying or something.

Alice and Jasper have gone off to get some ice cream for a midnight snack. I pray that Aro doesn't find out about it because he constantly tells us not to eat junk food before we compete.

"You need filling food with good carbs. Like pasta" He says, "No cookies. Pasta, apples, whole grains!"

Alice must really be craving ice cream right now or something.

Lauren and Angela decide that they aer too exhausted and go up to their room after saying a quick goodnight to all of us.

I haven't seen Rosalie around.

"I'll escort you to your room" Edward says to me. I'm surprised and very happy by his offer.

"Thanks" I say.

"Don't want a lovely lady like you walking around alone at night." He says jokingly. I smile at him. I want to tell him that we're at the Olympic village and there is security everywhere. It's probably the safest place to be right now.

I also don't want to deter him or make him think I don't want him to walk me to my room so I keep my mouth shut.

So soon we're standing in front of my door facing each other. I feel like a girl coming home from her first date with a guy, standing on the front porch awkwardly.

"Well, I'll see you around Bella" He says.

"See you Edward."

He places one simple kiss on my cheek and for a split second I feel his soft lips again my skin.

"Goodnight Bella." He says as he walks away.

I let out a sigh on longing and open the door. Rosalie isn't in the room so I assume she is with Emmett.

I take off my clothes and hop into the shower. I was sweating a bit being crowded in with so many people and it feels good to wash off the day.

When I step out of the bathroom Rosalie is furiously texting on her phone. She has a soft smile on her face and I ask her who she's texting.

"Emmett" She says.

"Do you like him?" I ask.

"More than you'll ever know" She says dreamily, "He's so…perfect. I mean, he's a goofball and a big oaf but he's so sweet and I really like him"

"That's great Rose"

"Mmm-hmm…" She trails off, still with a smile on her face.

"So..do you want to take a shower?" I ask.

"He kissed me" She say.

"What?"

"He kissed me. Emmett. He kissed me. It was short and sweet but perfect"

"Wow, Rose, that's great! Congrats, I guess"

"Thanks"

She gets up and heads into the bathroom.

I'm a little stunned by the fact that Rosalie and Emmett have kissed already. They've known each other for what? A few days? Must really be fate or meant to be or something. My mind drifts off towards Edward and how I'd like him to kiss me. But unlike Rose I have competition. The ever so flirtatious Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory like Edward too.

_Maybe he likes you better than them_, my brain tells me, _maybe he doesn't like Jessica and Lauren but he's…being friendly._

Fat chance, those two girls are way hotter than me, and guys always go for the visual appeal.

Day one of competition and I oversleep. Thank goodness I'm not competing today because I just want to lay in bed and never get up.

"Finally up sleepyhead?" Rosalie asks me.

"Yeah" I say with a yawn, "What time is it?"

"About eleven. Don't worry. We don't have anywhere to be. Aro gave us the day off to relax and whatnot. Alice, Lauren and I went to get breakfast. Jessica is out cold like you were. I brought you something though"

She hands me a croissant and a cup of coffee and I thank her.

"The men's gymnastics team is competing tonight. You wanna go watch?" Rosalie asks.

"Uh sure"

"Unless you want to watch Edward swim."

I blush and Rosalie gives me a grin.

"He's competing?" I ask.

"No I'm just kidding. I love how red you get at the mention of his name. Somebody has a crush" She says teasingly.

"Uh…"

"You do, don't you?" She says.

"What?"

"Have a crush on Edward?"

"How do you know?"

"You seemed pretty happy with him last night," She shrugs, "I don't know, you just got all blushy and flustered when I mentioned him."

"Uh…"

She giggles.

"Yeah I guess I do" I say.

"No harm there" Rosalie says.

A knock at the door interrupts our conversation and I'm a bit thankful. I don't normally spill my feelings about guys or talk about my love interests with most people. I guess growing up with only a father does that to you. Rosalie opens the door and giggles.

"Emmett!" She says, "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to check up on you" He says, "How was your night?"

"Perfect. Yours?"

"Great."

I come out from the sleeping area and see the two sitting on the couch.

"Hey Bella" He says.

I give him a wave and settle down on a chair next to them. I'm a little uncomfortable when they start making gooey eyes at each other so I excuse myself.

"Uh..I'll leave you two alone. Bye" I say as I walk out of the room.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do now, but I definitely don't want to be there if Rosalie and Emmett start making out or something.

"Hey Bella!" Charlotte the rhythmic gymnast runs by me with her posse of girls. I start to say hi back but she's already run off. Wonder where she's off to.

I walk around a bit. Maybe I'll explore the place or something. Or maybe I'll go watch a sport. There are events going on everywhere. Maybe I'll catch a ping pong match or something. Is that even going on today? Huh, maybe I'll get to see the great Eric Yorkie in action.

"Going somewhere?" I hear a velvety voice ask.

End Chapter.

**For the record I think rhythmic gymnastics is pretty cool. **

**Thanks for reading and please leave me a review because they'll make those rhythmic gymnasts get gold! :)**


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